Lottery Investigation Warranted

State Rep. Al Gutman, R-Miami, has raised some serious questions about the dealings of the Florida Department of Lottery, and Gov. Bob Martinez should order an investigation to clear the air.

Gutman has raised the possibility of ``large-scale wrongdoing`` in dealings between David Bausch, former assistant secretary of the Lottery Department, and Scientific Games Inc., Bausch`s new employer.

While occupying his lottery post, Bausch ordered far more tickets from Scientific Games than were needed for the Fortune scratch-off game. The state ended up having to destroy 85 million unused tickets at a cost of $1 million.

Bausch also ordered 200 million tickets for the Money Tree game from Bally Inc. and 59 million of those tickets now are waiting to be destroyed.

Martinez should heed Gutman`s suggestion and order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to determine if any dealings between Bausch and Scientific Games were out of line.

If, as Lottery Secretary Rebecca Paul says, the unused tickets were a result of miscalculating public interest in the scratch-off games, the mistake should serve as a costly lesson in how to gauge lottery popularity.

If, as Gutman suggests, Bausch gave his soon-to-be employer a sweetheart deal at public expense, the arrangement should be exposed.

In any case, the accusations and suspicions should be laid to rest.

The public must be satisfied that all lottery business is being conducted ethically and legally.